Behavior of Elastoplastic Auxetic Microstructural Arrays

A continuum-based micromechanical model is employed for the prediction of the elasto-plastic behavior of periodic microstructural arrays that can generate negative values of Poisson’s ratios. The combined effects of the negative Poisson’s ratio generated by the array microstructure and the elastoplastic behavior of the constituents are studied. A design methodology for the determination of the constituents’ properties of two-phase arrays that generate required values of negative Poisson’s ratio is considered

Behavior of Elastoplastic Auxetic Microstructural Arrays

material

Natural Frequencies and Modes of Electrostatically Actuated Curved Bell-Shaped Microplates

Configuration-dependent spectral behavior of initially curved circular microplates loaded by a distributed nonlinear electrostatic force is investigated. The structures under consideration are distinguished by two interesting features. The first is that the plates are initially bell-shaped, rather than flat or spherical, and therefore have regions of both positive and negative curvature. Second, the plates are sufficiently curved to exhibit snap-through buckling and bistability. The structure is described in the framework of the nonlinear Föppl von Kármán shallow plate theory. The influence of the initial curvature and loading on the free vibrations around unloaded and deformed equilibria is investigated. The results of the Galerkin model backed by the finite elements analysis show that the modes of even slightly curved bell-shaped unloaded plates differ significantly from those of the initially flat plates. As a result, when the natural modes of a curved plate are used as the base functions, a significantly better convergence of the RO model is achieved. In the vicinity of the critical snap-through and snap-back configurations, the sensitivity of the natural frequencies to the plate deflection is much higher than in the unloaded state. This high tunability opens new opportunities for the design of better resonant sensors with enhanced performance

Natural Frequencies and Modes of Electrostatically Actuated Curved Bell-Shaped Microplates

Configuration-dependent spectral behavior of initially curved circular microplates loaded by a distributed nonlinear electrostatic force is investigated. The structures under consideration are distinguished by two interesting features. The first is that the plates are initially bell-shaped, rather than flat or spherical, and therefore have regions of both positive and negative curvature. Second, the plates are sufficiently curved to exhibit snap-through buckling and bistability. The structure is described in the framework of the nonlinear Föppl von Kármán shallow plate theory. The influence of the initial curvature and loading on the free vibrations around unloaded and deformed equilibria is investigated. The results of the Galerkin model backed by the finite elements analysis show that the modes of even slightly curved bell-shaped unloaded plates differ significantly from those of the initially flat plates. As a result, when the natural modes of a curved plate are used as the base functions, a significantly better convergence of the RO model is achieved. In the vicinity of the critical snap-through and snap-back configurations, the sensitivity of the natural frequencies to the plate deflection is much higher than in the unloaded state. This high tunability opens new opportunities for the design of better resonant sensors with enhanced performance

Two-Directional Operation of Bistable Latchable Micro Switch Actuated by a Single Electrode

Curved micromechanical beams are a versatile platform for exploring multistable behavior, with potential applications in mechanical based logic elements and electrical and optical switches. Here we demonstrate bidirectional electrostatic actuation of a bistable, latched, micromechanical beam by the same electrode, which was used for the snap-through switching of the device. The release of the mechanically-latched beam is achieved by pre-loading the structure using a rising voltage applied to the electrode, followed by a sudden decrease of the voltage. This abrupt removal of the loading results in a transient response and dynamic snap-back of the beam